NBA power rankings: Week 6

Another week of NBA action is in the books, you the fans have voted and the DeseretNews.com NBA power rankings are here.

San Antonio and Oklahoma City highlight the best the NBA has to offer, Miami dropped a few slots after a shocker of a loss in Washington, and Utah is creeping its way closer to the top-10.

You may notice a lot of differences in the way we're treating the power rankings. We value your feedback and your input. Please comment, email or tweet @EarlOfHemsley with your suggestions to improve our power rankings.

Their last win game against Phoenix on Nov. 30, but before that you have to go all the way back to Nov. 18 to find a win for these guys.

If only Linas Kleiza played like he does against the Jazz every night, this team would be something, but they're not.

29
Cleveland Cavaliers

Amy Sancetta, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 26

NBA.com rank: 27

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 30

Record: 4-17

Streak: Lost 5

The only reason the Cavaliers are so high is because their last win came against Atlanta on the road. It looks like the 1-point overtime loss they suffered at home against Portland back on Dec. 1 really took the wind out of their sails. Their closest margin has been seven, and it happened Saturday against Detroit.

28
Washington Wizards

Ann Heisenfelt, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 30

NBA.com rank: 30

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 22

Record: 2-15

Streak: Lost 2

The Wiz dug themselves out of a cellar this week. Who would have thought this team would have ever beaten Miami? We're not sure if the Mayans were involved, but we'll let you know.

That said, Washington returned to form a few days later losing to Atlanta on the road. The Wizards nearly upset Golden State, however, on Saturday. They're still awful, but they seem to be playing better recently.

27
Phoenix Suns

Ross D. Franklin, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 25

NBA.com rank: 26

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 27

Record: 7-15

Streak: Lost 7

Normally a seven-game losing streak happens when a team suddenly faces stiffer competition, but not these guys. True, they've lost to New York, Memphis and the Clippers during their slide, but they've also been blown out by Detroit and lost winnable games against Dallas and Toronto.

Oh, Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudamire, wherefore art thou?

26
Charlotte Bobcats

MIKE MCCARN, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 20

NBA.com rank: 21

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 25

Record: 7-12

Streak: Lost 7

Ten games into the season, it looked like Charlotte might make something of itself this year. Eleven games and many grimaces on Michael Jordan's face later, the wheels have apparently come off.

Say what you will about the Hornets, at least they won this week against a decent team. Their win against Milwaukee at home wasn't even close.

That said, this team really has very few places to go but down over the coming weeks. After Washington on Tuesday, they play Minnesota. Next week they have Golden State, the Clippers and San Antonio—all on the road.

24
Detroit Pistons

Carlos Osorio, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 23

NBA.com rank: 24

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 17

Record: 7-15

Streak: Won 1

Never mind that their last three wins came against Cleveland twice and Phoenix once, they are at least winning something.

Brandon Knight is doing fairly well recently. He carried his team to win against Cleveland on 30 points, seven boards and five assists.

Now if they can only get the other four guys on the court to work well with him…

23
Portland Trail Blazers

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Previous Deseret News rank: 22

NBA.com rank: 22

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 24

Record: 8-12

Streak: Lost 2

The Trail Blazers are one of a few select teams to have multiple four-game win streaks so far this season. Weber State standout Damian Lillard is doing pretty well at the point guard position, but that's about all that seems to be clicking regularly for Portland, and despite his stellar play, the Blazers are second-to-last in assists per game.

You'd think that with LaMarcus Aldredge down low, the Blazers would be better than 26th in the league in rebounding, but you'd be wrong.

22
Orlando Magic

Phelan M. Ebenhack, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 24

NBA.com rank: 23

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 26

Record: 8-12

Streak: Won 1

The Magic got a lot of attention when they beat the Lakers in L.A., but they should have gotten more for beating Golden State on the road. Had they not followed that up with losses to Utah and Sacramento, they might have been higher.

Regardless, things certainly look better for Orlando now than they did a month ago. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games, and their schedule through the end of the month is vacant of talented teams other than Utah, Atlanta and Golden State.

21
Sacramento Kings

Ravell Call, Deseret News

Previous Deseret News rank: 29

NBA.com rank: 29

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 28

Record: 7-12

Streak: Won 3

The Kings suddenly have won three in a row and are inching their way back to .500. True, they didn't rock the NBA world with wins against big clubs, but wins are wins, and their most recent win against Portland was their first on the road.

The Kings in their last three have actually resembled something of a team, and Aaron Brooks is looking more and more comfortable in the starting point guard role. That's bad news for Jimmer Fredette, who didn't see the court in Sunday's win at the Rose Garden over Portland.

It's becoming clearer by the losses that Mike Brown wasn't the problem in Los Angeles. The fact that reports surfaced this week of bickering between Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant demonstrate this team isn't much of a team, but rather a collection of aging, self-centered superstars.

We'll see if things get better when Nash returns, but in the mean time, the Lake show must take it's struggling act on a four-game road stint. They'll play the Knicks on Thursday, so they better pull things together fast.

19
Denver Nuggets

Matt York, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 15

NBA.com rank: 17

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 12

Record: 10-11

Streak: Lost 1

What's worse for a Nuggets fan these days than having Carmelo Anthony drop 34 points on Denver in his first game back from injury? Not much.

Denver is the loser in five of their last seven contests. They had a so-so week, but couldn't touch New York nor Atlanta on the road. Their win against Indiana was the best they put up.

Koufos seems to fit well into that Denver lineup, but it's clear that Kenneth Faried has cooled off substantially as teams have taken notice of him.

18
Minnesota Timberwolves

Jim Mone, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 21

NBA.com rank: 20

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 23

Record: 9-9

Streak: Won 1

If only the Wolves had Ricky Rubio. They need a good distributor desperately. They're bottom-10 in assists and scoring. Good thing they have Kevin Love, or they'd be toast.

Minnesota has done great defensively, and if it weren't for a dreadful week of Thanksgiving that saw them lose five straight, the T-Wolves would be much higher. Unfortunately for them, they really haven't seemed to recover.

Rubio will hopefully return in the next two weeks. We'll see how much that changes Minnesota's fortunes.

17
Houston Rockets

Pat Sullivan, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 16

NBA.com rank: 15

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 19

Record: 9-10

Streak: Lost 1

The Rockets lost to Dallas after one of their better players returned to action. Why? Defense.

The Rockets are great at scoring, assisting and rebounding—credit Lin and Harden for that. They're an offensive top-10 team, but they're dead last defensively, allowing their opponents more than 100 per game.

They beat the Lakers and the Jazz at home, but they'll have to figure out a way to come together against stiffer competition going forward. They've got San Antonio again this week, plus the Celtics.

16
Dallas Mavericks

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Previous Deseret News rank: 18

NBA.com rank: 19

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 16

Record: 10-10

Streak: Won 2

Dallas is treading water until Dirk Nowitski returns, and they're nearly there too. Winners of three of their last four, they spoiled Kevin McHale's return to Houston's lineup in a Lone Star State duel. Good thing they have O.J. Mayo.

If they can get Dirk back at near-to-full strength by the 20th, this team could start bubbling up to the top again. They play Miami, Memphis, San Antonio and Oklahoma City all in one week. That's when we'll find out if this team has any shot of contending again.

15
Milwaukee Bucks

Mike Roemer, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 11

NBA.com rank: 10

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 21

Record: 10-9

Streak: Won 2

The Bucks had a really bad last 10 days of November, but they seem to have rebounded a little. They've beaten Boston twice in three games and also beat the Nets in Brooklyn over the weekend. They are also one of the few teams to lose to the Bobcats.

The rest of December won't get easier for them. They take their average stats and average record against the Clippers, the Grizzlies, the Nets (again) and Miami before 2013.

14
Indiana Pacers

Darron Cummings, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 19

NBA.com rank: 18

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 7

Record: 10-11

Streak: Lost 2

The Pacers have had their ups and their downs. They've struggled to beat any team of note this year.

This team is really, really good at rebounding and really, really good defensively. That doesn't help much, though, if you can't score. The Pacers are dead last in the league in scoring and 4th-worst in assisting.

The Jazz have kicked their offense up a notch. They're eighth in the league for both rebounds and points per game, fifth in the league for assists per game, but a lousy 21st for points allowed per game. Defense, particularly pick-and-roll defense, has been this team's achilles heel since day one of the season.

They've only lost once at home, but nine times on the road. They'll need to figure out a way to continue to take the road magic with them if they are intent on seriously contending.

12
Philadelphia 76ers

Kathy Kmonicek, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 9

NBA.com rank: 13

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 20

Record: 11-9

Streak: Lost 1

They split a home-and-home with the Celtics, but have a very difficult December ahead, and Andrew Bynum is not walking through the door anytime soon.

The 76ers are an average team with an average point guard and a slightly above average coach. They'll need to all step it up a level if they want to be playing better than .500 after Christmas.

11
Boston Celtics

Kathy Kmonicek, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 10

NBA.com rank: 11

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 5

Record: 11-9

Streak: Won 1

The Celtics' strength lies in Rajon Rondo. They are awesome getting assists, averaging 23 per game. They are less good at rebounding and defense, but they have a knack for beating good teams. They're one of the four who have beaten OKC, but they've also lost to Milwaukee twice and Philadelphia twice in three games.

The Bulls are really, really good at one thing: defense. They allow 91.3 points per game, the second-best in the league. It's largely because of that defense that they were able to stifle the Knicks at home.

Injury is hurting this team. Kirk Hinrich is day-to-day after knocking his elbow, Rip Hamilton has a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, and of course, Derrick Rose is still rehabbing from his torn ACL. When Rose comes back, though, the offensive numbers should improve, and this team could be a team to reckon with.

9
Brooklyn Nets

Mark J. Terrill, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 6

NBA.com rank: 5

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 8

Record: 11-8

Streak: Lost 4

Yes, you read that right. The Nets have lost four games in a row. Brook Lopez's injury is hurting the Nets much more than anyone within the organization would have hoped.

The Nets are good defensively, but they struggle to score. If the trend continues, the Nets may slide farther down. Deron Williams has a tendency to put the whole team on his back during tough times—a one-man team does not a winning team make.

8
Golden State Warriors

Associated Press

Previous Deseret News rank: 13

NBA.com rank: 8

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 14

Record: 13-7

Streak: Won 3

Probably the quietest team in the NBA, the Warriors are doing things the right way. They've beaten the Nets twice and have a marquee win against the Hawks.

The Warriors average 45 rebounds a game, are top-20 in defense and assists, and top-10 in scoring. David Lee seems to have come into his own recently, and Steph Curry is very quietly becoming an NBA star.

They've also won three straight, though if they were really looking to impress, they'd have blown out the Wizards in their last contest rather than winning by four.

7
LA Clippers

Eric Gay, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 7

NBA.com rank: 7

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 11

Record: 14-6

Streak: Won 6

The Clippers have taken over Los Angeles. They've won six straight, are the only team to beat Utah at home, and have both a top-10 offense and defense.

Their depth appears to be improving as well. The Clips rode their bench to easy victory over Toronto on Sunday.

Chauncey Billups is out indefinitely with peroneal tendinitis in his left foot. The last game he played in was their victory at Utah. Karma? Perhaps not, but certainly interestingly coincidental.

6
Atlanta Hawks

Todd Kirkland, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 8

NBA.com rank: 9

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 10

Record: 12-5

Streak: Won 3

Atlanta has won nine of their last 10, and their latest victim was no creampuff. The Hawks rode 3-point shooting to victory against Memphis.

Their defense is fifth-best in the NBA, and they average 23.2 assists per game. As long as Josh Smith and Al Horford continue hot, this team will be tough to beat.

Devin Harris must be enjoying the change of scenery.

5
Miami Heat

Colin E. Braley, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 1

NBA.com rank: 1

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 4

Record: 13-5

Streak: Won 1

The Heat lost to Washington, then followed their sterling performance up with a home loss to the Knicks. Fortunately for them, Dwyane Wade decided to start playing seriously again in their next game against the Hornets. Wade scored 26 to lead all scorers, and LeBron wasn't far behind with 24.

But really, a two-game skid, one of which against the Wizards, with this team's stars? That will drop you four slots fast.

4
New York Knicks

Jeff Zelevansky, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 5

NBA.com rank: 6

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 6

Record: 15-5

Streak: Won 1

New York must have been worried at the prospect of losing both Carmelo Anthony and Jason Kidd, but 'Melo dropped 30+ in his last outing, and Kidd continues his 39-year-old legs have some life in them.

He's taken two blows to the head in the last two weeks, yet plays on. Sunday night, Kidd came out of the halftime locker room sported a New York Rangers hockey helmet to protect his noggin, mostly as a joke.

Kidd said he "got creative," but what's really been creative is how the Knicks have managed to beat the Heat twice this year and stay perfect at home.

3
Memphis Grizzlies

Lance Murphey, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 2

NBA.com rank: 3

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 3

Record: 14-4

Streak: Won 1

Sure the Grizz are 2-2 over their last four games, but one of those losses came against the Spurs, and the other loss came against Atlanta, a team that's won nine of their last ten and drastically improved their power ranking.

The Grizzlies have shown they're very good at taking down snoozer teams and have a couple quality wins. Their best win came against the Knicks at home. They have a real challenge this Saturday when they take on Utah on the road. The Jazz have only lost one at EnergySolutions Arena, largely due to questionable calls that got the Clippers' Chauncey Billups a flop warning.

2
Oklahoma City Thunder

DON EMMERT, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 4

NBA.com rank: 4

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 2

Record: 17-4

Streak: Won 8

James Harden who? The Thunder are tops of the NBA again, right alongside San Antonio.

The edge has to go to the Spurs strictly on a strength of schedule argument. Only three of the eight teams they've bulldozed during their latest streak have winning records. Most notable, however, was their win at Brooklyn.

1
San Antonio Spurs

DON EMMERT, AP

Previous Deseret News rank: 3

NBA.com rank: 2

DeseretNews.com Fan Power Poll Rank: 1

Record: 17-4

Streak: Won 4

The ageless Spurs continue to do what they've done for the last four years under Popovich: win.

Excluding that loss in Miami—much closer than most expected without their big three—the Spurs have won 8 in a row, and most of them haven't been close.